APC Convention: Niger Governor, NASS Caucus Endorse Sani Musa As National Chairmanship

• Senator Sani Musa has been endorsed by the Niger state caucus of the APC at the National Assembly
• The senator was presented to the governor of the state by his colleagues in the Nigerian Senate and the House of Representatives
• Governor Abubakar Sani Bello wasted no time in endorsing the candidacy of Senator Musa and declaring his support for him

Minna - The national chairmanship aspiration of Senator Mohammed Sani Musa received a boost as the governor of Niger state, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello on Monday, January 31 endorsed him ahead of the February 26 national convention of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The governor announced his support for the leading candidate when he hosted the Niger state caucus in the National Assembly led by the Senate Deputy Chief Whip, Senator Sabi Abdullahi who came to formally present the national chairmanship candidate to him.

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Elated by the show of solidarity among members of the National Assembly from the state towards the actualisation of Senator Musa aspiration at the convention, Governor Bello described the support of the lawmakers as the right thing to do.

He said:

“From north-central, preferably, I want someone from Niger state. Home is home. I wish my brother success and luck. I will do whatever I can within my limited power and resources to see that he gets what he wants.

“I appeal to everyone to support my friend because he is a senator and I believe he will give the party a good direction. We will do whatever we have to do to see that we succeed in what we want.”

He also stressed the need to reach out to party leaders and members across the board, especially, President Muhammadu Buhari, who is the national leader of the party, noting that he will require not only the support of the state but all stakeholders.

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He added:

“The election of a national chairman is not a decision for Niger state alone, it is the national chairman, not the Niger state chairman. We have a national leader who is the president.

“He is to be consulted before we make a decision. I feel we will consult him and see what he has to say. We will put you in prayer and I wish you the best.”

While presenting the chairmanship hopeful, Senator Sabi said:

“One of us, Senator Sani Musa is vying for the position of the national championship of our party.

“We felt the time has come for us to come back home, meet our party, seek an audience with you as leader of the state to present his aspiration, and seek your support, counsel, and everything for him to succeed.

“We are here to appeal that you own this process and project. The state needs to own this aspiration because he is not doing it for himself, he is doing it for the state.

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“We want to see a party that is organised and focused. We are here to say Sani Musa is vying for the office and we are here to seek your blessing and take the project like your project.”

Earlier, Senator Musa said his decision to seek to lead the party was based on the need to give the party a new lease of direction and build a party that will groom and develop leaders at all levels of the party for the growth of the country's democracy.

His words:

“My reason for going for the national chairmanship is not far-fetched. I want to provide a leadership that will be able to work with the manifesto of the party and to be able to show Nigerians that we are capable of doing this democracy.

“If you look at Africa today, Nigeria is the largest democracy and we must be the shining example of others. APC today is the largest political party in Africa and we must have coherent leadership, leadership that is has cohesion, that will give Nigerians the best quality of governance.”

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My chairmanship will re-engineer internal structures of APC, says Sani Musa

Senator Musa had earlier said if, given the opportunity to lead the party, his leadership will re-engineer the political structure of the APC.

Speaking to journalists including a Legit.ng reporter on Friday, December 10 in Abuja, the Niger-born chairmanship aspirant commended the chairman and members of Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) for what he described as a "wonderful job."

He said they have done well in expanding the base of the party and attracting high-profile members and their followers from areas where they previously had unsatisfactory electoral outcomes.

Group warns APC members not to elect EFCC-indicted ex-governors as chairman

Meanwhile, the South-South Emerging Leaders' Forum (SELF) has warned members of the APC not to elect some former governors and individuals in the race who have been indicted for some financial crimes by anti-corruption agencies.

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In a statement sent to Legit.ng on Wednesday, January 19, the national coordinator of the group, Barrister Preye Wilson, warned that the ruling party does not need a national chairman that will be dragging in and out of the anti-corruption agencies' offices to explain their dealings in the past.

Barrister Wilson said it is time for the ruling party to deviate from past experiences of electing a former governor as national chairman.

Source: Legit.ng